Passbook Loan: Meaning, How It Works, Pros and Cons (2024)

What Is a Passbook Loan?

A passbook loan is a personal loan made to a savings account holder by the custodial bank, which uses the savings account balance as collateral. These loans may also be called a savings pledged loan, and another version is called a certified pledge loan.

Key Takeaways

  • Passbook loans allow you to use your savings account as collateralfor a loan.
  • Most banks and credit unions let you borrow up to 100% of the amount in your account.
  • Passbook loans may charge lower interest rates than a credit card or personal loan without collateral.
  • If you take out a passbook loan, you will be essentially paying interest on your own funds.
  • A passbook loan may improve your credit score if your bank or credit unionreports your paymentsto the credit agencies.

How a Passbook Loan Works

With a passbook loan, the savings account holder continues to earn interest in the savings account, including the amount borrowed. As the loan is repaid, the account holder gains access to those funds.

Terms and conditions vary considerably, with some lenders willing to lend up to the account's balance, although others only lend a percentage. For example, a passbook loan with Community Savings Bank will allow customers to borrow up to 90% of their available balance.

Passbook loans are considered low-risk transactions for the lender due to the accessibility of the collateral. The borrower must hand over the passbook to the bank until the loan is repaid. The bank can also place a hold on the savings account funds up to the loan amount.

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Passbook Loan

Basically, a passbook loan is a loan you take out against yourself. You are borrowing from your bank or credit union using your savings account balance as collateral.

A passport loan can help you if you need to establish a good track record of paying back your debts, which can help you improve your credit history.

A passbook loan uses the balance of a savings account as collateral, which makes it lower risk for a lender.

Another reason to use a passbook loan versus a personal loan is that you'll be offered a lower interest rate on a passbook loan by your bank or credit union. What is the interest rate on a passbook loan? It depends on the institution issuing the loan. For example, BankFive in Massachusetts and Rhode Island has an interest rate for its "collateral loan" product of either 3% or 3.5%.

A passbook loan keeps your money (and the loan funds) in one place, which may be reassuring to a nervous borrower or saver. Plus, your savings account will still earn dividends.

The downsides of a passbook loan are that If the bank doesn't report your loan history to the credit agencies, it won't be added to your credit history. If you default on the loan, you lose your savings, which are the collateral to the loan. That, in turn, could leave you without funds for an emergency or deplete your savings, which you might have been planning to use for major expense like a down payment, new car, or a holiday.

Also, you will be essentially paying interest on your own money, and missing a payment will often result in late fees. Some banks or credit unions may require a $5 or more balance in your savings account in addition to the money you use for collateral.

Who Is Eligible for a Passbook Loan?

To geta passbook loan, you needafunded savings account or certificate of deposit (CD) account. This accountisusually with the institution you intend on borrowing from. Thepassbook loanamountisbased on the balance in your savings account.

Is a Passbook Loan the Same as a Savings Pledged Loan?

A passbook loan is sometimes called asavings pledged loan, so they are the same. Both a passbook loan and a savings pledged loan use your savings as collateral for a loan.

Should I Get a Passbook Loan?

If you don’t have established credit or you have alow credit score, a passbook loan could have some benefits. Every time you make an on-time payment for the loan, it may be reported to the credit bureaus. Over the life of the loan, consistent, timely payments could help your credit score. A passbook loan might also be an option to consider if you aren’t eligible for other types of financing, or if the only other loans you qualify for have high interest rates. A passbook loan may offer a lower interest rate because your savings account balance is the collateral.

The Bottom Line

Passbook loans allow you to use your savings account as collateralfor a loan. Most banks and credit unions let you borrow up to 100% of the amount in your account.These loans may offer lower interest rates than a credit card or personal loan secured without collateral.

Remember, if you take out a passbook loan, you will be essentially paying interest on your own funds.But a passbook loan may help your credit score if your lenderreports your paymentsto the credit agencies.

Passbook Loan: Meaning, How It Works, Pros and Cons (2024)

FAQs

Passbook Loan: Meaning, How It Works, Pros and Cons? ›

Advantages and Disadvantages of a Passbook Loan

How does a passbook loan work? ›

Also referred to as a share-secured or savings-secured loan, passbook loans allow you to borrow against your own savings. Acting similarly to a secured personal loan, your savings account acts as collateral, which means that if you default on the balance, your savings could be seized to repay the delinquent balance.

What are the advantages of passbook? ›

Advantages: A physical notebook makes it easy to see all your transactions and balance at a glance. Passbook savings accounts can help children learn about banking. Fees and interest rates are often favourable.

How does a passbook work? ›

A bank passbook is a traditional method of keeping track of the transactions made in a user account. It depicts all transactions, whether they are credited or debited. It also shows where a person spent money and who credited it into his bank account. In a bank passbook, everything is precisely printed.

What is the cons of taking a loan? ›

The drawbacks of shouldering the responsibility of a personal loan include: Elevated interest rates: Personal loans, particularly unsecured ones, frequently entail higher interest rates when compared to alternative loan options such as secured loans or home equity loans.

Is it safe to use passbook? ›

Security: Money stored in a passbook savings account is insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor, per account, per ownership category. This insurance protects your money in the event of a bank failure.

Why do people use passbook? ›

A passbook, sometimes known as a bankbook, is a paper book used to keep track of bank or building society deposit account transactions. Answer. Safer transactions, easier to focus on saving, and a low entry barrier.

What are the risks of passbook savings? ›

Cons
  • Passbook savings rates are generally lower than high-yield savings account rates.
  • Few banks and credit unions offer these accounts.
  • Customers can lose passbooks and will need to request new ones.
  • You can't withdraw cash from ATMs or make deposits online.
Feb 2, 2024

What is a passbook interest rate? ›

On average, interest rates sit at around 0.09%. From a bank's standpoint, these accounts can be expensive to maintain. Besides paying for the passbooks, the banks also have to pay for the machines that tellers use to transfer electronic data into the passbooks.

Can you withdraw money from a passbook? ›

Passbook Savings

Being a passbook holder means that you have to be in a branch to make your transactions may it be withdrawing your money or depositing.

Who offers passbook loans? ›

But a passbook loan may help your credit score if your lender reports your payments to the credit agencies.
  • Community Savings Bank. "Passbook Loans."
  • Somerset Federal Credit Union. "Passbook Loan."
  • BankFive. "Collateral Loans."
  • Navy Federal Credit Union. "Borrow Wisely With Your Savings."
  • SoFi.

Can I take a loan against my own money? ›

A passbook loan lets you use the money in your savings account as collateral for a loan through your bank. Let's say you're sitting on a $10,000 balance in your savings account and you need to borrow $3,000. You can apply for a passbook loan, and chances are, you'd get approved.

Can you take out a loan and put it in a savings account? ›

Taking out a personal loan and stashing the proceeds in your savings account can give you a head start on your savings. But taking on debt before you actually need it can negatively impact you in other ways and put your financial well-being at risk. Here's what to consider before you try it.

Can a loan ruin your credit? ›

A personal loan can affect your credit score in a number of ways⁠—both good and bad. Taking out a personal loan isn't bad for your credit score in and of itself. However, it may affect your overall score for the short term and make it more difficult for you to obtain additional credit before that new loan is paid back.

What is considered a bad loan? ›

High-interest loans -- which could include payday loans or unsecured personal loans -- can be considered bad debt, as the high interest payments can be difficult for the borrower to pay back, often putting them in a worse financial situation.

When should I not take a loan? ›

If you're already struggling to afford your existing monthly payments, now is not the time to take on additional debt. While it's tempting to use a personal loan to help pay off high-interest debt such as credit cards, it still comes with the risk that your monthly payments will remain unaffordable.

What are the requirements for passbook? ›

Prepare any of the following:
  • Passport (with English characters)
  • Driver's License issued by LTO.
  • Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) ID.
  • Unified Multi-purpose ID (UMID)
  • Social Security System (SSS) ID.
  • Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) ID.
  • School ID (for minors)
  • NBI Clearance.

What is the difference between cash and passbook? ›

A cash book is a financial record that a business uses to record all cash transactions, including cash sales, cash purchases, and cash payments. A passbook is a small book that a bank provides to its customers to record their deposits, withdrawals, and other transactions.

References

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